Brandon (who asked that his last name not be published) likes to work. According to him, he’s always been a hard worker, no matter what kind of work he’s doing. Currently he is splitting his working hours between a job at Pizza Hut and a volunteer position at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. Brandon, 26, has been volunteering at the ReStore for five months, after being sentenced to community service.

Brandon was sentenced to community service, after being convicted for a felony. Due to a substance addiction, he attempted to outrun the police while operating a vehicle. He was sentenced to both work on his addiction and complete community service.

According to Brandon, the ReStore has provided a better environment for him than the first place he attempted to volunteer, the Salvation Army. He says he prefers to not have to handle women’s clothing and to be more physically active in volunteer duties.

As a volunteer at the ReStore, he organizes stock, unloads the truck, and works at the desk. Whatever they need him to do, he does. According to Brandon, volunteering at the Salvation Army has exceeded his expectations. “Everybody here’s really nice. And pretty much they treat me like I’m an employee. . . . It’s not what I thought it would be like. You think about free work, and you’re like, why would I want to work for free? Then you get here and you have so much fun it’s not like working,” he says.

Brandon is not the only one who has recognized his success as a volunteer. His required community service hours have been reduced from ten hours a week to five. However, the court’s requirements have little effect on the number of hours that Brandon volunteers. According to him, when he was sentenced to ten hours a week, he served at least 14 hours. Now that he is required to serve five hours a week, he often serves at least seven, staying several hours after his Tuesday shift has officially ended.

Brandon even comes in to volunteer outside of his required hours. He comes in when the ReStore is short-staffed, but he does not see it as an inconvenience. “I treat it like it’s a job. It’s a responsibility for me to come here and do what I’m supposed to do,” he says.

In addition to volunteering and working at Pizza Hut, Brandon spends his time attending Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. He says that his main focus at the moment is getting his life together so that he can make responsible decisions. In the past, Brandon worked in the oil fields for 80 hours a week. He says he now knows that it is important to work on yourself before you can have a job that does not allow any free time. According to him, that is what he is doing. “I’m just enjoying life right now, really,” he says.